


Muster

by Luxicorde



Series: FFXIV Write 2020 [3]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers Spoilers, Post-Patch 5.3: Reflections in Crystal, You've been warned, bit of angst, only a brief mention of thancred but I'm gonna tag him anyway, spoilers for all of 5.0 and a bit of 5.3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:33:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26280460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luxicorde/pseuds/Luxicorde
Summary: Thancred has never been a good parent, but he's gotten better.
Series: FFXIV Write 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1906447
Kudos: 2





	Muster

**Author's Note:**

> Era and Thancred have a lot of history, and a lot of it boils down to "you both should see a damn therapist."

Today was the day.

Ryne had been meaning to do this for a while, but it never seemed like a good time to ask. She wanted to ask -- told herself she would -- after speaking with Minfilia, but realizing that Erastus wasn’t immune to the light like they thought pushed it to the back of her mind, and then when he vanished after the fight with Emet-Selch, none of them thought they’d see him again. It wasn’t until Calum figured out that he wasn’t _dead_ , just stuck in the rift that she had the chance to ask him again, and by then she was already neck-deep in the investigation of Eden. And then on top of _that_ , there was the battle with Elidibus, and the rest of the scions going home.

She didn’t know that Erastus couldn’t go home. He’d been quiet, watching everyone go into their vessels and put into Antoine’s bag. He went straight back to his apartment as well, and the suite manager said he hadn’t left since, not even for food. Ryne was there more so to check on him now, but…

She still wanted to know why he and Thancred couldn’t stand each other. 

Whenever she asked the other scions, she’d either get blank stares like with the twins, or deflections. Thancred never wanted to talk about it, always saying “I’ll tell you later” only to never bring it back up. Urianger had just told her Erastus’s past was complicated, and Y’shtola told her they’d always been like that. But when she asked Fray (and was finally starting to get somewhere with this), he got called away and she was back to square one.

Ryne wanted to scream when she knocked only for Fray to open the door.

“Oh, Ryne. Did you need something?” It was one of the few times she’d seen him without armor. Really, it looked kind of strange to her. She was so used to the leather and metal plates that seeing him in a button-down and plain pants was just _odd_. His hair was down too, a mess of black curls that went to his shoulders. 

“I wanted to talk with Era. About Thancred.” Ryne stepped in after Fray held the door for her. She’d been in here once before, when Calum asked her to grab something from his own place (she had gotten the room numbers mixed up and the door had been unlocked), and it was just as messy as last time. Fray’s half of the room wasn’t spotless, but the bed was made, and his clothes were folded at the end. Era’s half was a tramwreck. The blankets were piled on the ground next to the bed, his pillows were everywhere _but_ at the front, and there was a clump of what she assumed was dirty laundry tucked under the frame. The table and countertop they shared were both covered in various odds and ends; a mountain of spice jars on the table, some dishes scattered across the counter, and a few trinkets in between. The window at the end of the room had been opened, the balcony having just enough room for a small table and a chair, a book placed on the latter and a mug on the former. 

“Era’s gone to Kholusia today. He likes to sit on the cliffs.” After closing the door, Fray stepped over to the big table, clearing a bit of space so Ryne would have somewhere to sit. “I can tell you what I know, though, if you’d like.”

Ryne sat, nodding as she took in the smell. The table looked like they’d just tossed everything they had in the spice cabinet there and were slowly sorting through them, and the smell certainly matched. 

“Well, I’ve already told you that Era first met Thancred when he was a little younger than you. The scions took him in after he was left to die at Cartenau, and Thancred was against the idea.” Fray went out and grabbed his mug, coming back in and setting some of the spices on the floor.

“Is that why Erastus hates him?”

“Hm,” he set down his mug, just about to take a sip. “Hate is… a strong word. Era doesn’t hate a lot of people, but he holds grudges worse than a tonberry.”

Calum had told her about those, once. Little green demons that were about the size of a dwarf, with a much worse temperament. “Why does he do that with Thancred, then?”

Fray had that look on his face that told her he was remembering something painful, but it passed as soon as it came. “Thancred disagreed with taking him in due to Erastus being an enemy. He had been fighting for the Garleans, and the scions worked out that he had summoned a primal.”

Thancred and Urianger explained primals to her a few years ago, and how they could ‘temper’ people. Alisaie had told her it was like when people turned into sin eaters, at least for their souls. 

“He thought Era was a threat and that he should be dealt with as such, and Era overheard him when he said so to Minfilia - the first one.”

“That’s- That’s-” She couldn’t get it out. Ryne could never see Thancred being so cruel. He could be cold and a bit numb sometimes, but nothing like that.

“Horrible? Most of the scions agreed with you, but think of it as if he were a sin eater. Would you let a lightwarden live, even if they were a child?”

Ryne didn’t have an answer for that.

Fray put his mug down, having drank the last drop. “It was the least risky choice, even if it was cruel. Era was a stranger to them, and if it weren’t for his adoptive mother threatening to steal him away and never return, he might have convinced the scions to deal with him in that way.”

Lucy. That was a much better subject, and Erastus had told her all about his mother. She was a doctor, even better than Chesamile, but only because she was old, even for a Viis. 

Fray stood, taking his mug to the counter and putting the kettle on the stove. He rose up a clean mug to Ryne, but she shook her head no. “He got a lot of the same treatment you did, too. Era took it upon himself to prove he was good to Thancred, but it was never quite good enough. That’s part of why he tried to beat the shite out of Thancred in the Occular.” 

Ryne remembered that, even if she didn’t want to. They’d just come back from Rak’tika, after Erastus had killed the lightwarden. Emet-Selch had said something from behind them, having come to watch the show as he put it. Era faltered, falling to the ground for a minute before… changing. It was hard to describe. It was almost like he had started to turn into a lightwarden, and Ryne clearly remembered feeling the surge of aether and yelling out to him. But instead of light, it was as if he was cloaked in darkness. When the lightwarden drew close to snap its jaws shut around him, its own shadow reached up from the ground and stuck it like a pig. Antoine and Calum had stepped in at that point, shielding her and the rest of the scions from any stray blows, and she couldn’t see much from behind them. The fight ended soon after, with Fray scooping Era up after the light poured into him. He looked half dead, just limp in Fray’s arms and barely breathing. Fray left before she could ask him anything, carrying him back to the Crystarium on his own. Era had woken up a few days later and came to hear what the next step of the plan was, and it didn’t take long before a few jabs from Thancred and him to escalate into yelling, and then full on brawling. Fray and Calum had separated the two, and Ryne’s stomach still turned when she remembered how sickly Era looked when Fray led him out of the Occular.

For someone so sick though, he’d given Thancred quite the black eye.

Fray set down the mugs he’d picked out, leaning against the counter while he waited on the kettle. “He has a lot of resentment towards him, but they don’t hate each other. Era just didn’t get why he could never please him, and they’re both too stubborn to just talk about it.”

Ryne sat there, just digesting the story. Thancred not being easily pleased was more believable, and she had her own experiences to back that up. But him suggesting they just get rid of Erastus? Even after seeing what happened in the Ravel, she knew Erastus wasn’t evil. He’d always been kind, even when he was bonded to that horrible woman in Eulmore. He’d brought her flowers when he could, and all sorts of trinkets he’d found in the derelicts. And when she was allowed to watch Ran’jit train the soldiers and Erastus had the time, she would sit and read with him until he was called away.

She jumped as the kettle started whistling, Fray quickly removing it from the stove and filling up the two mugs he had. 

“You didn’t have to, I’m not thirsty.”

“Not for you,” Fray nodded to the door behind her, “him.”

Ryne turned around, seeing Erastus leaning in the doorframe. He’d seen better days, his hair still a mess even though it was pulled back, and a dark circle under his one good eye. Ryne let out a squeak and a quick “sorry” before ducking her head low. It was rude to talk about people behind their backs, even if Fray had agreed to tell her when Erastus was lost in the rift, but it was ruder still to talk about them when they were _right behind you_.

“You’re in my spot.”

Ryne scrambled to get out of her chair before Fray stood, handing Erastus a mug and going back to leaning on the counter. He didn’t seem angry, at least, but it was hard to tell what he was thinking. Ryne thought it was funny, when she first learned that Erastus had to ‘talk’ by using his echo and that he could ‘hear’ what was on someone’s mind using the same gift, and yet he wasn’t very expressive. But now it made her a bit frustrated, and more than a little sad. He always looked like he was thinking about something, and there were more times than she could count where he simply stopped saying anything, lost in thought and unable to focus on getting the point across.

“I don’t mind you talking to Fray about this stuff, Ryne. You can relax.” Erastus removed his half-mask, setting it down next to his mug before taking a sip. It was rare to see Fray without his armor (Calum liked to call it his shell), but it was rarer still to see Era’s whole face. He didn’t have any scars on his mouth like Ryne first thought, only the one over his eye and nose. But then again, Ryne didn’t know that he couldn’t speak until she saw him do so without his mask, only to see his mouth never moved. 

She was startled once again by Fray setting a hot mug down in front of her. He had that look again, and she wanted to ask, but something in the way he looked at her told her not to. He was sad, seeing something that neither her nor Erastus saw, and she didn’t want to make it worse.

“You can stay as long as you like, and ask what you want now that I’m back.”

**Author's Note:**

> Part of FFXIVWrite 2020. My works for 2019 and 2018 can be found on my tumblr @Luxicorde but I'm not as proud of them as I am of this year's stuff.


End file.
